Ohio State takes home opener over Arizona State

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 2 Ohio State University wrestling team gave 3,500+ Buckeye fans plenty to cheer about in the home opener versus No. 11 Arizona State, topping the Sun Devils in seven of 10 bouts to secure a 31-12 team victory.

Ke-Shawn Hayes and Te'Shan Campbell both notched triumphs over nationally-ranked foes while heavyweight Kyle Snyder closed out the afternoon by pinning Austyn Harris in the third period following a dozen takedowns. Myles Martin contributed six points to the team as well with a pin of his own while Campbell's bonus-point donations came via a 14-0 major decision.

Snyder's 12 takedowns were 50 percent more than the entire ASU team total of eight takedowns. Overall, Ohio State racked up three times (24) as many takedowns as the Sun Devils.

Following a Sun Devil fall in the opening bout, Luke Pletcher lit the scoreboard for Ohio State with a 7-5 sudden victory. Pletcher's third takedown of the tilt clinched his fifth win of the season (5-0).

Next up was Joey McKenna making his Buckeye debut. The 141-pounder built a 4-1 edge in the first frame before riding out Cory Crooks for the entire second stanza. He then added an escape in the third and a sizable riding time advantage to notch a 6-1 decision, evening the team ledger at 6-6.

Hayes, facing his second consecutive nationally-ranked foe after defeating then-No. 12 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) in the Princeton Open finals last week. And just like in that highly-touted contest, Hayes came away with victory in hand. He surrendered no offensive points in topping No. 13 Josh Maruca, 6-3, to give Ohio State its first team lead of the day and improve individually to 6-0.

The Buckeye upper hand was short-lived, however, when No. 12 Joshua Shields (7-0) handed No. 5 Micah Jordan his first defeat on the season. Shields knotted the match score at 9-9, owner of a 7-4 decision.

Te'Shan Campbell quickly reasserted Ohio State on top in the subsequent bout, dominating a Top-10 showdown. Campbell, ranked seventh by Intermat, faced off against the sixth-ranked 165-pounder, Anthony Valencia. The Buckeye wasted little time erasing doubt of his lower Intermat standing, executing an immediate takedown accompanied with six near-fall points in period number one. He'd tack on another four-point near-fall in the second, building up to an eventual 14-0 major decision and pushing the Bucks ahead for good at 13-9.

With Ohio State's advantage down to a lone tally at 13-12, Myles Martin (ranked No. 2) jump-started a Scarlet-clad flurry to conclude the match. His pin of Kordell Norfleet marked the first of three consecutive bouts ending in six points for the Buckeyes. Kollin Moore then received the night off, accepting a forfeit at 197 pounds. Snyder's takedown clinic served as the cherry on top, a Sunday sundae treat capped by a retweet from ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell.

Comments

It also appears that Arizona State had 2 matches where they defeated nationally ranked (3 & 5) wrestlers from THE Ohio State. You must correct future references to anyone from THE Ohio State. If you don't then you are just jealous of them, as their arrogant Buckeye Nation fan base thinks. They are the greatest because they say so.

Tonetroc
(1)
about 4 months ago

Hostility Strikes again, worried more about taking out they're own inadequacies on others instead of just enjoying the sport.. if they were truly paying attention to this article, instead of projecting thery're own anger, they would realize that the this is an article pulled from tOSU athletic dept release, and written for they're fans, and not the personal opinions of this website, which I'm sure Arizona State writes releases for they're fan base... Grow up Hostcity, let go of all the angst against who ever you don't seem to like! I hope you watched the Match today, the Wrestling was incredible!! no matter who won or lost!! Great Match!!!

coolbeans
(1)
about 4 months ago

Dear hostcity, Please play nice in the sandbox or we may be forced to give you a time- out. :)